I

  Chapter 268 266 [Spanish Portuguese and British]

  Macau, Government House.

  More than ten years ago, this place was still a fort.

  At that time, the Spanish king jointly ruled Portugal, and the Portuguese in Macau never recognized it. The king of Spain sent the first governor, which not only detonated the conflicts between the two countries, but also detonated the conflicts between the mainland and the colonies, and then detonated the factional conflicts within the Catholic Church.

  Triple contradictions superimposed, Macao councilors united with Jesuits, launched a coup to expel the governor.

  The first Governor of Portugal and Macau suppressed it by force and occupied the fort of the Jesuits, and directly converted it into the Governor's Palace of Portugal and Macau.

   "Your Excellency the Governor!"

  The adjutant said anxiously: "The envoy we sent to Guangzhou was expelled back by Zhao, the rebel leader of the Ming Dynasty. Zhao threatened that His Excellency the Governor must go to Guangzhou to negotiate in person, otherwise he would starve to death the Portuguese in Magang."

  Paolo Shi, the sixth Governor of Portugal and Macao, full name: D. Sebastian Loboda Silveira.

   This guy just came to Macau two months ago, before his **** was hot, Macau was deprived of food for 20 days.

   Paulo Shi asked: "How long will there be enough food?"

   "At most half a month." The adjutant replied.

   Paul Shi asked again: "This rebel leader Zhao, have you found out more information?"

  The adjutant took out a handwritten material: "Zhao's full name is Zhao Han, and he was given the title of 'Heavenly King' when he rebelled. Heavenly King is the king of heaven..."

   "Wait a minute," Paulo Shi interrupted, "is this man religious?"

   "No, no, no," the adjutant explained, "The heaven of the Ming Dynasty is not a paradise for Catholics. The supreme ruler is called the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor is equivalent to the emperor of heaven, and the king of heaven is the king of heaven."

Paul Shi suddenly realized: "I understand the difference between the Roman emperor and the Spanish king. This Zhao is a Taoist believer. He launched a rebellion and wanted to establish a Taoist country, which is very detrimental to us. Fanatic religious elements, he Will expel European missionaries and destroy our churches and hospitals."

  The adjutant has only been in Macau for two months. He said confusedly: "But I heard from the Macau Council of Elders (Parliament) that there are very few religious fanatics in Ming Dynasty. Maybe things are not as bad as imagined."

   "This Zhao must be a Taoist fanatic," Shi Baoluo said, "Da Ming is a powerful country, and only religious fanatics can quickly rebel and grow. I heard that he is about to completely occupy Guangdong... Where is the map?"

  The adjutant brought a map of the world. Japan and North Korea were marked in more detail, and the few coastal provinces of Ming Dynasty were also more detailed.

  But for inland provinces, only a rough outline is drawn.

"Jiangxi... is here. They have reached Guangdong and are still attacking Huguang," said Shi Paulo. "This is a very powerful rebel force. Maybe we can help the Ming Dynasty. As long as the rebel army is wiped out, the Emperor of Ming will definitely In return, we will get more benefits."

"No, no, no," the adjutant said anxiously, "Your Excellency, Da Ming is about to die. I heard from the elders that there are rebels in the north of Da Ming, and they are powerless to quell the rebellion in the south. In the next few years, even decades, Guangdong will be under the rule of Zhao, and we must cooperate with Zhao. It won’t even take that long, and the Spanish and Portuguese in Magang will starve to death in one month without food.”

   "But he has no sincerity and refuses to meet my envoy." Paulo Shi was very angry.

  The adjutant suggested: "Your Excellency Governor, I think you should go to Guangzhou yourself."

"No, I can't go," Shi Paulo slapped the table and said, "That's a Taoist fanatic, and I'm a devout Catholic, he might kill me in Guangzhou! I want to transfer troops, I want to transfer troops from the Philippines, I want to take down Canton. This is just a rebel army, and it is certainly no match for the Spanish warriors."

  The adjutant reminded: "Your Excellency, you have no right to deploy troops in the Philippines. You can only mobilize the Magang Guard and the Ming (China) Japan Trade Fleet. Moreover, these troops may not obey orders."

   There are 300 Magang guards, 100 Portuguese and Macao soldiers, and 200 Spanish and Filipino soldiers.

  Especially those Macau soldiers, all of whom were Portuguese born and raised in Macau. Their relationship with Portugal is relatively indifferent, not to mention the governor sent by the Spanish king.

  Now two-thirds of the armed forces in Macau come from the Philippines, the purpose is to suppress the Portuguese rebellion!

   "Boom boom boom!"

   "Come in."

A Portuguese-Macau MP stepped into the Governor’s office and took out a parliamentary document saying: “Your Excellency, please leave for Guangzhou immediately, and you must bring three members of the Council with you. Otherwise, the Council will guide the citizens to take action, Ma Gang An incompetent governor is not welcome!"

   "Okay, I will consider it, Mr. Congressman." Paulo Shi smiled.

  The congressman turned around and left, not paying attention to the governor at all.

  Macao has obtained autonomy, and even the governor cannot intervene in management affairs.

   Moreover, Portugal is fighting for independence. Shi Paulo is the governor sent by the King of Spain. He was afraid of annoying the Macau Parliament and making Macau independent from Spain.

  In addition, the churches in Macau are also fighting endlessly. The Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustines represent different forces.

  Historically, the year Chongzhen hanged himself, the Macau Parliament directly expelled the Spaniards, and the four major churches also began to fight fiercely. The Governor of Macau is also among those deported. Moreover, the natives of Macau, Portugal, really drove the Governor of Macau away!

  Paul Shi is under a lot of pressure now, outside the pressure from Zhao Han in Guangzhou, and inside from the Macau Parliament.

   What is even more disgusting is the Dutch. Last year, the Dutch fleet directly blocked Malacca for half a year, and no Spanish or Portuguese ships were allowed to pass.

   "Get ready, I will go to Guangzhou in three days."

  Paul Shi slumped on the chair, looking unlovable. He was sent to be the governor of Macau after eight lifetimes of bad luck.

  After three days, set off.

  A total of more than forty people, including the governor, adjutants, councilors, guards, and trade teams, arrived in Guangzhou.

  Deng Yunzhan, head of the Shibo Department, received them and left them alone, and they were not allowed to move around at will.

   "We are under house arrest," said Samento, commander of the Sino-Japanese trade fleet.

Instead, Paul Shi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's not house arrest, it's a means of negotiating pressure. It seems that Zhao doesn't really want to expel us, otherwise he wouldn't need to exert such pressure." Paul Shi suddenly laughed, "Everyone, take it easy, Zhao will negotiate with us sooner or later."

   "Perhaps." Desino sneered.

   Desino is a negotiator of the Macau Parliament. His grandfather is Portuguese, his father was born in China, and he himself is a Portuguese-Chinese hybrid.

Portugal?

  That was the motherland of grandpa and father, not his own.

   What's more, Portugal has been ruled by Spain for many years, and he is unwilling to play for a Spanish king.

  Desino can not only speak Cantonese, but also Ming Dynasty official dialect, and often deals with Ming officials. It is also because of this that he, a lowly mixed race, was able to climb up step by step to become a member of the Macao Council.

   At this moment, a foreigner was brought by the official, passed the courtyard of the Macao Mission, and walked towards the inner courtyard.

   "Hello, are you Portuguese?" Sarmento shouted hastily.

  The foreigner turned around with a smile: "No, I'm British."

   After speaking, this person followed the official and left, obviously being brought here on purpose for a while.

   Desino said suddenly: "I met him, the British businessman and travel writer Peter Mundy."

   "Damn it, how can there be British businessmen here, they are here to grab business!" Sarmento walked back and forth angrily.

Shi Paulo sighed, "This rebel leader, Zhao, is not only an excellent general, but also an excellent negotiator. We have already lost half of this negotiation, so let's just see what price he will offer. To be honest, We have very little room to bargain."

  Historically, the first British travel book involving China was "Peter Mundi's Oya Travel Notes" written by Peter Mundy.

   This person came to Guangzhou a few years ago to do business with the British fleet. That was the time he lost 2,800 taels of silver and robbed 30 pigs. Peter Mundy was not the commander, he was just a merchant on board the ship. Although he did not purchase enough goods, he was still allowed to return to England to make a small profit.

  Last year, Peter Mundy came to Guangdong again, driving a merchant ship alone, and he was lucky not to be robbed halfway.

  It's a pity that Portugal got in the way. Peter Mundy's merchant ship docked in Macau, and he couldn't buy goods at all in the past half a year. This guy simply traveled in Macau, bribed officials of the Ming Dynasty, traveled to the suburbs of Guangzhou with his entourage, and finally lived in a gentry's house and became friends with a young scholar.

  Peter Mundy's description of China was the most objective and fair among all British writers throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

   There are praises and criticisms, seek truth from facts.

  Backing to his residence, Peter Mundy took out a quill and began to record what he saw today—

"Through my friend Huang, I learned that there is a rebel leader, Zhao, who has occupied Guangzhou, the greatest city in the Ming Dynasty. I thought, this is an opportunity, I must contact Zhao, otherwise I will have to return empty. Damn Portuguese!"

   "...Zhao is very young, God, he can speak English. Although his English is broken, it seems to be taught by a farmer in the countryside, but he can barely communicate."

"Zhao told me that my understanding of the Ming Dynasty was too biased, like arriving at a port in England and thinking that I knew the whole of Britain. Perhaps, this is true. Zhao and his rebels are like other Chinese people I have seen. People are different."

"In my long-term contact, the Ming people, or the Chinese, are xenophobic, cowardly, greedy, and superstitious. They can break out a peasant war in order to fight for a cemetery. They don't contact foreigners and let them lead the way , always asking for a lot of silver coins... After Zhao came, he slowly began to change. Officials did not dare to ask for bribes, at least on the surface, they secretly asked for silver coins without telling Zhao."

   "Zhao said that he would deal with these corrupt officials. He invited me to dinner, and the dishes were not extravagant, which is different from other wealthy Chinese..."

"But it's a pity that Zhao, such an excellent young man, actually eats with chopsticks like other Chinese people. Some of them hold the bowl, and some put the bowl on the table, just like a pig digging in a trough. I It is totally unacceptable that many Chinese people wear luxurious silk and use exquisite porcelain, but eat like pigs. My good yearning for Chinese people is shattered by the way they eat..."

  (end of this chapter)